


The War of Hearts

by ArtFoxLife



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Alternative Universe - War, Enemies, Enemies to Lovers, Epistolary, Falling In Love, Hate to Love, M/M, Malec, Master & Servant, Master/Slave, POV Alec, Possessive Magnus, Romance, Slavery, Slow Build, War, alternative universe, malec - relationship - Freeform, slave - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-05-31 19:47:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6485239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtFoxLife/pseuds/ArtFoxLife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Noone really remembers how or why the war with downworlders began, noone is old enough. All we hear are stories told too many times and by too many people to be believed as truthfull. In these stories we are the noble and brave worriors, children of angels, that came to save the mundanes from evil creatures. Well if this is true then we failed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : I am not making any profit by posting this work and all the lovely characters and the original world belongs to Cassandra Clare
> 
> The title ofcourse refers to the amazing song War of Hearts by Ruelle

Noone really remembers how and why the war with downworlders began, noone is old enough. All we hear are stories told too many times and by too many people to be believed as truthfull. In these stories we are the noble and brave worriors, children of angels, that came to save the mundanes from evil creatures. Well if this is true then we failed. 

We no longer protect mundanes becouse there are non left, only thing reminding us of their existence are empty and destroyed safe-zones we built to protect them from the outer world. Ironically enough these zones were used as a hidding place by the last free shadowhunters and were the battlefields where we lost the war. I wasn´t there when the war started, but I was there in end.

After Idris, our capital city, fell , we were given orders to hed for an old safe-zone 11 and await further instructions. We have spent weeks waiting, trying to establish comunication, sending out scouts and waiting for other shadowhunters to join us, but they never came, the downworlders did. One night the sky suddenly lit in blinding white light and a piercing scream made us cover our ears. There was no time to fight, no time to run, the air was filled by the smell of death before our feet touched the ground. When they came to our room I stood in front of my siblings and cried for them to run, but I couldn´t stall the attackers for long, they overpowered me in seconds. The last thing I saw was my sister Isabella and little brother Max trying to escape through the broken window, I don´t think they made it.

After my capture I woke up here, in the prison camp they built near Brooklyn, one of their biggest cities. Well atleast that´s what I was told by other prisoners, who were sometimes used as forced labor outside of the building. I haven´t seen anything outside of the walls and cells they are keeping us in, cells with no windows, furniture or space to move in. We are not talking with each other much, what can defeated warriors say to each other? There is no law and there are no orders to follow, except those we are given by our captors, our new masters. We no longer are shadowhunters, we are slaves.

\---------

I wake up hearing the guards opening our cell and I see them picking out several men and leading them out, probably another forced labor. I don´t expect them to point on me, so when they start to drag me out I don´t fight them and follow. It´s not like me fighting them would be of any use, since being here without proper food or a chance to move has cost me a big part of my strenght. We are led outside and even though it´s night , the light from the sky and the fires near road are too bright for my eyes, blinding me for long moments. The pain makes me stop, but soon after I feel one of the guards to push me forward and I go after others to a destroyed building near the wall around the camp. We are told to clear the rubble and repair cracks and holes in the walls and floor, but already I am feeling my strenght leaving me from the short walk here and I know it won´t be an easy task.

They let us work for hours, using force on those trying to catch their breath. I´m desperatly trying to hold on, calling on all the powers I have left becouse I know what happens to those who can´t work anymore. They never come back to the cell and we can hear their screams as they are fed to the vampires. After long hours they tell us to stop working and lead us to a near tent, where they give us food and water, one of the few perks of being chosen to work, if you make it through the night you get to have real food and clean water, to be strong the next day. I look around the tent and take in my sorroundings. There are few tables similiar to our own, occupied by different groups of workers, probably taken from different cells, working at various locations across the camp. I see guards not only beside the tables, but even next to the entrance, or more like next to the white sheet of fabric used as one. 

After months, or atleast after what felt like months, I start to feel hope, the fighter in me wakes up becouse my enemies have face again, they are no longer dark figures in the distance, on the far side of my cell, they are no longer indistinctive voices waking me from my slumber and cousing children kept somewhere in the building to cry. They are no longer faceless army that cannot be defeated and I feel, with them becoming an individual which can be fought and killed, I´m becoming myself again and I no longer am just one of the prisoners, crawling in my cell, without faith waiting for the end.

I promise myself to work hard, gain strenght and fight, becouse even if it kills me, I´m not gonna surrender. After the meal the guards usher us out of the tent again and lead us in the directions of our cells, but after few minutes we are told to stop and stay away of the road. I look around us and see why, a group of well dressed downworledrs is coming our way, surrounded by guards with uniforms nothing like the ones I have seen in our camp. The group is coming closer to us so I am able to take a better look on them and my breath catches in my throat, now I understand why they have all the guards and why we couldn´t even stand near them while passing on the road. In the middle of the group is Magnus Bane, the high warlock of Brooklyn and one of the highest downworlder ranking leaders . I am standing frozen, frantically thinknig of what to do. My reflexes are telling me to kill him but I know I don´t have the strenght necessary, weapons and even if I would have there are just too many of them, I wouldn´t be able to come near. He looks at me and locks his eyes with mine, never looking away. I´m afraid he might have heard my thoughts, but then, rightwhen his group just passes us, he winks at me and looks away. That is certainly unexpected.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The characters and original story belongs to Cassandra Clare

Sitting in the dark of my cell, trying to sort out all the informations I gathered during my stay outside, I´m remembering every guard I have seen, buildings we passed and noises I heard. I´m trying to find a way to acquire a weapon, find an escape route, but my mind can´t seem to stay foccused, always slipping back to the warlock I encountered yesterday. Why did he do that? Was he trying to mock me? To destract me? Well, if yes then he certainly have succeded.

My thoughts are interupted by a click of the cell door and the guard´s voice calling for my work group to come out. Once again we are led to the demaged building, but this time I can see it has been almost completely repaired, clearly an another group was brought to work here when we were sleeping. I can see men I recognize as part of the working groups we shared meal with carrying furniture inside the house. Tables, chairs, cabinnets, what is this building supposed to be, a conferrence hall? Somehow I can´t seem to imagine downworlders orderly sitting and taking notes, whilst listening to the speaker.

Walking our way a see a vampire in what looks like an expensive suit – not that I´m able to tell -clearly thinking just being here, near us, is beneath him. Stopping good 8 feet from us he starts to give out orders. Apparently I´m supposed to load pieces of metal construction on a truck, lucky me. Not wasting any time I get to work, I don´t want to be seen as unefficient worker, that could lead to me not being picked again and thus ending my chance of escape and finding the rest of my family. After several hours of work I start to feel as if someone was watching me, but looking around I see noone, but I can´t shake off the feeling like someone is there. Suddenly I´m startled by a laud scream and I see several guards standing above one of my „collegues“ trying to drag him away.

„What happend?“: I ask men who´s loading the truck with me.

„He couldn´t stand anymore, probably torn muscle in his leg. They are taking him away.“

I´m not asking where, I don´t really think I want to know the answer. Turning back to my work I notice Magnus Bane standing near the building and watching me, with puzzled face. I return the stare, unsure of what else to do, but soon after he just shakes his head and heads of in the direction of the posh vampire. 

It doesn´t také long to finish loading up the truck and the guard takes us to eat and later to clean ourselves. Returning back to the cell I feel very tired but also determinativ to continue, brouse I know that with every day I work I´m getting stronger and closer to my goal. They stop us in front of the door leading to our building and search us, in case some we took some metal or anything that could be used as a weapon from the building site. When it´s my turn I turn around to face a guard and notice Bane watching me. I´m starting to have a gut feeling that I´m not gonna like where this amount of attention is gonna lead to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the story so far, don´t forget to leave kudos and comments :)  
> Disclaimer: The character and original story belongs to Cassandra Clare

The night is restless. The air has changed, it´s thick and heavy in the lungs. Nobody sleeps, nobody talks, we all feel the change, awaiting the horror the darkness will bring. It doesn´t take long and we start to hears whispers, quiet scratches and screeches in the distance. I don´t dare to move, afraid that I might be heard by the monsters lurking outside. Suddenly a scream pierces the air and more soon follow. Tortured screams, belonging to someone who would rather be already dead. 

We stay awake till the first ray of light can be seen under the main door, not enough for us to see but enought to know a new day has came. With the first light the last pained cry ends and the world is quiet once again.

When the guards come to take us noone fights, we follow them with our heads bowed to the ground and knowing those people that died in the night have met fate much worse that being a dinner for a hungry vampire.

The guard leads us to a green patch, hands us shovels and orders us to dig a large pit. Looking at each other we all seem to understand the purpose of the pit and are hesitant to begin. Seeing the guard I know there is no other option and start to dig, others soon joining me in the gruesome work. I´m trying not to think too much about what will follow, but it is hard to keep my mind focused solely on the task at hand.

I can sanse the smell of decomposing bodies long before I´m able to identify where it´s coming from, carried by wind. It is weak at first, but quickly becoming stronger and stronger and soon I can see men draggin carts with bloodied body parts, teared in a way that it would be impossible to sew them back together. We are told to lay down the shovels and help in emptying the carts into the pit. My stomach is turning upside down, but i bite down on my cheek hard enough to feel the metal taste of blood on my tongue and get to work.

I´m trying to convince myself that those are just metal pieces, just like yesterday, there´s no difference in it, just pick the piece and throw it in there, no difference at all. The monotonous labour calms me down, helps me in pretending that it´s all right, nothing´ s wrong, so when I pick a piece and see an angel rune on it I don´t think about it, I don´t stop, becouse otherwise I would go crazy.

„Hey, white-face! Come here!“ 

Instinctively I turn around to see the asshole yelling and I see the posh vampire widely gesticulating towards me.

„Yeah, you, move, I have better things to do.“

Trying to look as calm as possible I walk to him and take a closer look. Judging by his appereance he is probably originally southener and using too much hair product. Vampires. Unpractical creatures. Small voice in my head pipes up, telling me I wasn´t so appaled by the amount of hair product or glitter Magnus Bane was wearing, but I shut it down.

„I was told you are quite the worker, so pick two of your grave-digging buddies and follow me, you have a new job.“


End file.
